Satan - Songs In Crimson (Metal Blade Records) [Rich Piva]
Brian Ross is one busy guy. The 70-year-old singer, just last week, put out the new record from NWOBHM legends Blitzkrieg, and now, one week after that, we get a new record from the other band he has sung with forever, Satan. The last Satan record, Earth Infernal, surprised me and a lot of others with how freaking awesome it was, so it will be tough to top. I don’t think Songs In Crimson does, but it is another very solid effort from a band that has no business being as good as it is this late in their career.
The first thing to call out is how great Ross sounds, not just for someone who is 70, but really for anyone. His voice is once again in top form, as it was on the Blitzkrieg record. For me though, I prefer Satan, stylistically and song wise, and the ten tracks on Songs In Crimson solidify this.
Frantic Zero kicks us off with a bang and just rips the place up. It is not just Ross here, as the band is still in tact with their lineup from when they dropped their first record in 1983, and no one sounds like the have lost a step. The guitar work by Steve Ramsey and Russ Tippins is excellent, and the rhythm section of Graeme English on bass and Sean Taylor is super tight and drive the record forward.
Era (The Day Will Come) is a perfect example of all of this, especially the great duelling guitar work. There are some killer tracks on Songs In Crimson, my favourites being Whore Of Babylon, Sacramental Rites (love the chorus and bass work), the total ripper Turn The Tide, and the closer, Deadly Crimson, which once again shows off the pipes of Mr. Ross. There are no bad tracks on Songs In Crimson and the just under 45-minute run time is perfect for this album.
I reviewed both the new Blitzkrieg and the new Satan, and Songs In Crimson is a way stronger record overall and can even hang with it’s predecessor, Earth Infernal, which is saying a lot. It’s not better, but it is right there and another amazing effort for a band with a new lease on life and killer late era discography. Let’s raise one to Brian Ross and his amazing impact on metal with this and all of his other great work. 8/10
Crobot - Obsidian (Megaforce Records) [Rich Piva]
Crobot is one of those bands that people mention in defence of other people who say rock and roll is dead or there are no good new rock bands out there, and I get it. They play heavy, yet radio friendly rock, leveraging all sorts of the heavy stuff, like grunge, stoner, hard rock, hair metal, southern rock, and don’t really stop there, never really allowing anyone to throw a tag on them other than rock and roll.
I mention radio friendly, and they are certainly that, perhaps being a bit too polished in their sound, which tends to turn of some who like a bit more feeling and less built in a lab vibe. Their fifth album, the aptly named Obsidian, is all I said previously, but maybe a bit darker musically and lyrically, staying more on the grunge side than anything else, and the results are not bad at all.
The opening title track is right out of the stoner rock playbook, sounding more like Valley Of The Sun or Queens Of The Stone Age than anything else, and I am here for it. You will not be surprised that this is my favorite track on Obsidian. The band may have found something here, but after this little stoner ripper we head from their home state of Pennsylvania to the Pacific Northwest, as tracks like Come Down, From The Ground, and Disappear are more Jerry than Josh. There is definitely more of an edge to this record, led by the guitar work of Chris Bishop who has his guitar tuned to 1992.
Nothing is an upbeat rocker that is more 90s alt rock than anything else, maybe, say, Fuel, but if Fuel was around in 1988. Metal is an interesting track, as the band seemed to want to put a thrash song on the record and I applaud them for the effort, even if it is more Reload than Master, but points for the cheesy yet fun lyrics. I dig the guitar work on the slower grungy track The Flood and the heaviness of the very metal titled Ancient Druid Crown.
The second half of Obsidian may be even darker, with tracks like White Rabbit (thankfully not the cover) and Head Of The Beast all dark and brooding. I like how the record closes with the acoustic Happiness, which reminded me of Save Your Love by Great White for some reason, but if they were listening to Skynyrd right before they recorded it. A chill cleanser to finish this one out was a good idea.
I like Crobot, and I like Obsidian. It is a fun record, highlighted by Chris Bishop’s guitar work, and I hope fans of the band dig their edge and the bit of darkness this record brings. As much as I enjoyed the album, it is always so hard to escape the production, as I would love to hear these songs with just a couple of turns less on the slickness dial.
I got to see the band live in a festival setting this year and they fit right in and sounded great, without the need for any kind of studio wizardry. Other than that, Obsidian is a solid record for a band that unfairly seems to be one of the poster children for saving rock. Obsidian doesn’t do that, but it certainly keeps it afloat a bit more. 7/10
Wolfbrigade - Life Knife Death (Metal Blade Records) [Matt Bladen]
An album of sub-four minute hardcore black punk n roll. Misanthropic and completely at odds with the world today, five years since their last album, things have gotten worse and the irony of that isn't lost on these angry, angry Swedes. Having been around since 1995 but only Wolfbrigade since 1999, Life Knife Death is a rip snorting record that unfolds organically, as if recorded live in one take before pissing off back to their respective holes.
In the accompanying press kit it states they are influenced by bands such as Discharge, Motörhead, Entombed and The Beatles(?), the latter coming from not only a subverted track titles but also the band constantly trying to find the "ultimate song". They may not have found that one here but there are some smashers, the bands retirement from touring (another The Beatles similarity) allowing them to focus their energy on creating new music, and the occasional festival show.
12 songs 27 minutes, let's go, Ways To Die bursts forth as the opener, the title track slicing and dicing while A Day In The Life Of An Arse is proper death ripping and Unruled And Unnamed has the melodic lead guitars, the thrash coming back on Your God Is A Corpse and Nail Bomb has a chug to it. Not much else to say about this one Life Knife Death in that order, play it loud. 8/10
Caffeine - The Threshold (The Lasting Dose Records) [Matt Bladen]
Like a steaming hot cup of java, injected straight into your veins, the first riff of The Threshold, will pump blood through your body and get you hyper focussed. Like their namesake Caffeine, gets into your brain, delivering much needed serotonin but leaving you a little dehydrated as you are guaranteed to want to throw yourself around to the sludge of these Germans. Inspired by Mastodon, High On Fire and Neurosis (their forays into psych and lo-fi).
Caffeine is made up of veteran members of the hardcore scene, this D.I.Y ethos and history of aggression imbues tracks such as Dead End with a tenacity and impatience, Last Train has the face melting progressive leads of Mastodon/Baroness, while The Agency is a keen blend of the ferocious and the psychedelic. At just over half an hour, The Threshold, doesn’t hang around for elongated passages, conversely these shorter run lengths are packed with sparkling technicality, punctured by interludes that bring texture.
The Threshold benefits repeated listens, an album recorded over a long period with two different guitarists, it’s coherent and compelling. 8/10
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